


With No Wings to Catch You

by samikitten



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Fluff, Human Castiel, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Worried Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 14:54:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11187462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samikitten/pseuds/samikitten
Summary: After a newly human Castiel falls down the stairs, Dean has to take care of him. Some feelings come to the surface.





	With No Wings to Catch You

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt:  
> Dean takes care of a newly human Cas, who has learned all too soon just how fragile humans are.
> 
> Set after the season 8 finale. We're just going to assume that Sam was fine, no Gadreel needed. The boys find human Cas, take him to the bunker to live with them and everything is hunky dory. As good as Supernatural gets anyway.
> 
> Thanks to DeadlyKittenKay for looking this over before I posted it!

It figured that the first time Castiel would experience real human pain was not from a twisted ankle or a migraine. No, instead he fell down the bunker's stairs. Apparently being newly human made the former angel quite clumsy.

Sam was off working a case with Jody, so Cas and Dean had gone on much needed grocery run. Food ran out way more quickly when there were three grown men in the bunker instead of two. Dean was closing the door when he heard the yelp followed by Cas's body tumbling towards the bottom of the stairs. 

“CAS!” he yelled while running down the stairs, kneeling when he got to him. “Hey, you ok man? Answer me Cas!”

“Dean?” Cas said as he tried to get up but failed. “Ouch.”

“I'll say,” Dean said, relief flooding his voice. “I'm surprised you didn't break your neck. Nothing feels broken, does it?”

“I don't think so?” Cas said uncertainty as he tried moving. He whimpered, the pain from the long fall starting to set in. “Everything hurts, though.”

“I bet. C’mon, let's get you off the floor, ok?” Cas nodded and nearly yelled in pain as Dean helped him stand. “Alright, you're fine, ok? Lean on me and we'll get you in bed.”

Dean as good as carried Cas to his own bedroom, only stopping a couple times to catch his breath. Dean laid Cas down on the bed as gently as he could, wincing as Cas moaned with discomfort.

“Hang on, buddy,” he said, walking toward the bathroom, “I know we've got some perocet in here somewhere.” Cas could only groan in reply, which made Dean search faster. “Aha!” he exclaimed in triumph when he found the bottle, then grabbed it and the glass of water he'd poured. “You remember how to take pills?” he asked when he got back to Cas's bedside. 

“Pretend it's food and swallow it?” Cas managed to grunt out.

Dean nodded. “Just don't chew it. Trust me. You do not want to know how this tastes.”

Cas struggled to sit up enough for Dean to put some pillows behind him. He was in too much pain to hold the glass himself, so Dean held it for him, tipping it to his mouth slightly after Cas popped the pill.

“You should start to feel better in a minute, ok?” Dean said, resisting the urge to smooth down the other man's hair. “I'm going to fix up that cut now.”

Cas grimaced and hissed when Dean dabbed at the scrape. “Sorry, sorry,” Dean murmured softly to him. 

Cas sighed and closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears the had been fighting to get out since the pain set in. “I'm so sorry, Dean,” he whispered. 

Dean's hand stilled on his forehead. “Sorry for what, Cas?”

Cas opened his eyes as the tears started flowing. “For everything! It's bad enough that you have to guide me through what it means to be human, and now you have to take care of me after I hurt myself. You shouldn't have to do any of this. I should be able to take care of myself, but I c-can’t!” he said as the sobs took over. 

“Hey now, it's ok,” Dean said as soothingly as he could. “None of this is your fault.”

“But I helped Metatron-”

“No,” Dean said sternly and put a finger on Cas's lips to quiet him. “That bastard manipulated you. He knew you only wanted to do the right thing and took advantage of that. The angels falling is on him. Period.” Dean gave Cas a small smile. “And as for taking care of you, I want to do that. You're family, and family always has your back. Plus, you're not used to being human. Do you know how many times I hurt myself when I was growing up? It's like a rite of passage!” He gave in and start stroking Cas's hair. “You're doing great, Cas. Just give yourself some time to adjust.”

Cas was looking up at him with wide blue eyes, lips parted in surprise at Dean's speech. Dean was tempted to capture those perfect, chapped lips with his own, injuries be damned. But now was not the time. Unfortunately.

Dean cleared his throat and stood up. “I'm going to get some ice for your head. Don't move, I'll be right back.”

Dean reached the kitchen and shook his head. Get ahold of yourself! he thought to himself while he grabbed an ice pack from freezer. When he got back to his room, Cas was looking more relaxed, if still uncomfortable. He picked up a washcloth from the top of his dresser to wrap the ice pack in and start back on the bed.

“Here Cas, your scrape is turning into a lump,” he said and gingerly placed the ice on Cas's head. 

Cas groaned a little when the cold began to seep through. “It's cold,” he complained, but held it to his head anyway. 

“That’s the point, Captain Obvious,” Dean couldn't help but laugh. 

He looked down at Cas, considering what he should do next. Cas should probably sleep when the pain lessened, but he was still fully clothed. His t-shirt had some blood from his head staining it, and there was a hole in the knee of his jeans that hadn't been there before. Dean had been so absorbed with getting Cas's pain under control that they hadn't even removed his hoodie or sneakers. 

“Ok, buddy, let's get you a little more comfortable,” he said, kneeling down to remove Cas's ridiculous yellow and black striped sneakers. (Cas was so excited when he found them, Dean just couldn't say no.)

“Are you trying to get me naked, Dean?” Cas practically giggled, the painkillers obviously starting to kick in.

Dean blushed and didn't reply.This was a far cry from the fantasies he'd has about removing Cas's clothes. He pulled off his shoes and socks, moving Cas's ankles a bit to make sure they weren't hurt. 

“Try to sit up a little and I'll take that hoodie off,” Dean said as he helped Cas pull himself up. They managed to wrangle Cas out of the red hoodie, the same one Dean and Sam had given him when they brought him back to live at the bunker. 

“Um, can you get your jeans off, or do you,” Dean swallowed, “need help?”

“Help, please,” Cas said, sounding groggy now. 

Wordlessly (now was not the time to open his mouth and say something stupid), Dean unbuttoned Cas's pants and helped him shimmy out of them. Then, before he could give himself too good a look at his almost half naked best friend, he covered him up with a spare blanket. Cas gave a contented sigh and closed his eyes. 

“You falling asleep, Cas?”

“Hmm?” Cas murmured.

Dean chuckled softly. “Rest now, angel,” he whispered.

“M'not an angel anymore,” Cas grunted as he drifted off. 

Against his better judgement, Dean kissed his forehead. “You'll always be my angel, Cas.”

Dean sighed as he sank down into the chair by his bed. The same chair the angel Cas had sat in while he “watched over” Dean. After everything, there was no denying it anymore. He was in love with Castiel. Sadly, he'd been too god-damned terrified to tell Cas how he felt before. But maybe now... 

Sometime during his thoughts of telling Cas how he felt, Dean fell asleep. He was woken up by soft groaning coming from his bed. He jumped up to sit next to Cas. 

“Hey, you ok?” Dean asked, concerned. 

“Yeah, I just forgot that moving is a bad idea,” Cas croaked out.

Dean looked at his watch. “You can have more percocet in about a half hour. I don't want to give it to you too soon. You be okay until then?”

“I think so. Can I have some more water?”

“If course!” Dean held the glass for Cas again while he drank.

Cas settled against the pillows again, looking at Dean with something significant in his eyes. 

“What?” Dean asked. 

“There's something I've been wanting to tell you,” Cas said nervously. “It's just - I don't want this to negativity effect our friendship.”

Cas's anxious demeanor and the look in his eyes had Dean thinking (hoping?) that maybe Cas felt the same way he did. He threw caution to the wind and took his hand. “You can tell me anything, you know that,” Dean said, squeezing his hand gently.

Cas looked at their joined hands and back up to Dean's face. He looked hopeful, but still took a deep breath before saying, “I love you, Dean.”

Dean let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He leaned over and said, “I love you, too,” before placing a kiss on his angel's lips. 

***

Sam came home later that night, and paused at Dean's open door in the way to his room. The sight of his brother curled around Cas on his bed made him smile. He quietly closed the door after taking a quick picture with his phone. He sent the picture to Jody, saying “I told you so! Pay up!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated.  
> Kudos to you if you noticed my “family always has your back” reference. Jared's AKF relaunch campaign inspired me. :)  
> Come say hi to me on Tumblr [here!](http://samikitten.tumblr.com)


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